Case Study

Literature

Plasterboard Production

Knauf gypsum wallboard is manufactured in a continuous production process.

A gypsum slurry is made up from stucco, or plaster of Paris, water and other additives, in a continuous mixer.

This slurry spreads, in a uniform stream, from multiple outlet hoses onto a moving sheet of paper. As the board is actually produced upside down, this paper will form the front face of the plasterboard. Discs ‘score’ this paper allowing it to be easily folded at the edges. The ‘back face’ paper, fed from above the production line, is applied to the slurry via a forming head set to the desired board thickness. At this point the front face paper is folded at the edges, producing an enclosed envelope of paper slurry.

Once formed, the board travels the length of the production line on a series of setting belts, and sections of rollers to the shear. During this journey, the plaster core has time to set, or harden, and the required product information (including: product name and type, relevant British Standards, date and time of manufacture) is printed on the back of the boards via an ink jet printer.

At the shear, the long train of board is cut into panels of specific length. These smaller boards are then turned over and passed into a multi-level dryer.

During the drying period, the excess water, which was required to form the initial slurry, is gently evaporated off.

After the boards have dried, they are trimmed and stacked to form pallets. These pallets are then placed in the warehouse after which they will be loaded onto trucks for distribution throughout the UK.